So Marco Rubio is undoubtly the GOP frontrunner for VP. The thing I'm wondering though is that FL has a resign to run law. At first glance, that would seem to make it illegal for Rubio to run for VP unless he resigns from the Senate. Which he isn't going to do.

So what I'm wondering is would there be any way for the eventual GOP nominee to get around this law if he wants to pick Rubio? Since whoever it ultimately is going to want to vet Rubio in spite of this.

Doubtful. He could resign in favor of an interim replacement (not named LeMieux) and be reappointed if the GOP loses, but that wipes out his seniority and makes little sense. I also disagree that he's likely to be tapped for a variety of reasons, but for another thread...

I'm really unimpressed by Marco Rubio. Florida is only the 220th electoral vote or something, and I don't think he has as broad minority appeal in general. Best to nominate Bob McDonnell. Won't make a show of himself and lives in what may well be the 270th electoral vote.

I'm really unimpressed by Marco Rubio. Florida is only the 220th electoral vote or something, and I don't think he has as broad minority appeal in general. Best to nominate Bob McDonnell. Won't make a show of himself and lives in what may well be the 270th electoral vote.

From the way it is looking currently, Florida has a better chance of falling into the Republican column than Virginia.

Bob McDonnell is a walking embarrassment and no respectable Republican nominee can pick him now, seeing as he is essentially the poster boy for state governments restricting access to contraception and abortion and forcing women to undergo humiliation in the process.

McDonnell's already got his "VP" label, and it stands for 'Vaginal Prober'.

With that being said, I tend to agree with Rogue on this: Marco Rubio isn't nearly as good-looking in real life as he may be on demographic paper. I don't think there are any real solid choices for the Republican Party for VP in this election: there wasn't four years ago, and everybody on the stage at this point is brand new with virtually zero experience on the national level.

« Last Edit: March 11, 2012, 06:48:53 pm by Strange Things Are Happening to Me »

I'm really unimpressed by Marco Rubio. Florida is only the 220th electoral vote or something, and I don't think he has as broad minority appeal in general. Best to nominate Bob McDonnell. Won't make a show of himself and lives in what may well be the 270th electoral vote.

From the way it is looking currently, Florida has a better chance of falling into the Republican column than Virginia.

Bob McDonnell is a walking embarrassment and no respectable Republican nominee can pick him now, seeing as he is essentially the poster boy for state governments restricting access to contraception and abortion and forcing women to undergo humiliation in the process.

McDonnell's already got his "VP" label, and it stands for 'Vaginal Prober'.

With that being said, I tend to agree with Rogue on this: Marco Rubio isn't nearly as good-looking in real life as he may be on demographic paper.

Really? I guess I should pay a little more attention to McDonnell then, because he was being portrayed in my eyes as a boring moderate with high approvals. Also, my point was that Virginia is less likely to go republican than Florida, but they need both, so it's best they get a leg up in the harder one.

I'm really unimpressed by Marco Rubio. Florida is only the 220th electoral vote or something, and I don't think he has as broad minority appeal in general. Best to nominate Bob McDonnell. Won't make a show of himself and lives in what may well be the 270th electoral vote.

From the way it is looking currently, Florida has a better chance of falling into the Republican column than Virginia.

Bob McDonnell is a walking embarrassment and no respectable Republican nominee can pick him now, seeing as he is essentially the poster boy for state governments restricting access to contraception and abortion and forcing women to undergo humiliation in the process.

McDonnell's already got his "VP" label, and it stands for 'Vaginal Prober'.

With that being said, I tend to agree with Rogue on this: Marco Rubio isn't nearly as good-looking in real life as he may be on demographic paper.

Really? I guess I should pay a little more attention to McDonnell then, because he was being portrayed in my eyes as a boring moderate with high approvals. Also, my point was that Virginia is less likely to go republican than Florida, but they need both, so it's best they get a leg up in the harder one.

McDonnell has a long past with championing pieces of social legislation that seek to restrict women's rights. He wrote a thesis at (was it Pat Robertson's college?) that outlined the need to restrict the rights of "sinners" back in the day and was the original creator of the ultrasound bill (or at least the first draft) many years back.

As far as an aggregate of polls go, Obama is currently up by 4 points in Virginia against Romney, whereas the margin is less than one point in Florida.

Virginia is fastly becoming solidly Democratic and based on some data-sets I ran a couple of weeks ago, may be the fastest-swinging state trending Democratic in the nation. It may not even be a "swing state" in 2012. Florida seems to be a perpetual swing state based on the influx of a wide array of demographics that keep it fairly evenly divided.

Romney* needs to pick someone with conservative credentials, and, considering what happened last time, it would help if they've been around more more than two years. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the Tea Party darlings were, by definition, elected two years ago.

Among Governors, this leaves, what, Jindal and Daniels? And they have their own share of problems. (Brewer and Perry are well-known but clearly not ready for the national stage)

There are a few more Senators, but anyone around before 2010 is a "Washington Insider," and I doubt Jim DeMint would take the slot if offered.

*If, somehow, some other candidate wins, it will be at the convention, and they won't be able to do the vetting procedure in the usual way: it may be an open vote at the convention, which would be mostly out of their control; they may have to pick some fellow traveler given time constraints; or they may go the Schweikert route and pick someone beforehand to appeal to convention delegates, rather than the American public.

There are a few more Senators, but anyone around before 2010 is a "Washington Insider," and I doubt Jim DeMint would take the slot if offered.

Governors who win their party's presidential nomination always pick a "Washington insider" as their running mate though. At least in recent times. In fact, aside from Palin, the VP choice for every presidential nominee (not just governors) in recent history was someone who spent more than 2 years in Washington.

There's no way that a resign to run law could apply to federal officeholders anyway, since it would be unconstitutional for a state to place restrictions that aren't enumerated in the Constitution on members of Congress. See also when a few states tried to implement term limits back in the 90s.

Virginia is fastly becoming solidly Democratic and based on some data-sets I ran a couple of weeks ago, may be the fastest-swinging state trending Democratic in the nation. It may not even be a "swing state" in 2012. Florida seems to be a perpetual swing state based on the influx of a wide array of demographics that keep it fairly evenly divided.

Virginia is fastly becoming solidly Democratic and based on some data-sets I ran a couple of weeks ago, may be the fastest-swinging state trending Democratic in the nation. It may not even be a "swing state" in 2012. Florida seems to be a perpetual swing state based on the influx of a wide array of demographics that keep it fairly evenly divided.

It doesn't make a damn what you believe; look at the data, trends and demographics. The podunk hillbillies in the western and southern parts of the state are vastly overpowered by NOVA. Even when you leave 2008 out of the scenario, the same result is observable.

But this isn't what the topic is about, so I'm not going to diverge any further.

First of all, it isn't a "resign to run" law since incumbents don't have to resign to run for reelection. It is just incumbents changing the rules to favor incumbents.

Second, Rick Scott is governor of Florida. Rubio's candidacy would be official during the convention. His seat could be left vacate until January. If, and when, he loses his bid for Vice-President, Governor Scott could reappoint him to the Senate. I'm sure the GOP caucus would restore his seniority.

Logged

The real scandal in Washington is not the bribery, corruption, or sex. It is how poorly we are governed.

Virginia is fastly becoming solidly Democratic and based on some data-sets I ran a couple of weeks ago, may be the fastest-swinging state trending Democratic in the nation. It may not even be a "swing state" in 2012. Florida seems to be a perpetual swing state based on the influx of a wide array of demographics that keep it fairly evenly divided.

It doesn't make a damn what you believe; look at the data, trends and demographics. The podunk hillbillies in the western and southern parts of the state are vastly overpowered by NOVA. Even when you leave 2008 out of the scenario, the same result is observable.

But this isn't what the topic is about, so I'm not going to diverge any further.

LOL! You actually believe this fantasy? Really?

Wow... just wow.

But hey, like you said, it doesn't matter what you believe. Keep living in your fantasy world.

Rubio isn't an attractive choice for any of the Republicans still running. He has too little experience to be a good fit for Romney, Neither Santorum nor Gingrich need him to shore up the base, and I can see Rubio wanting to be Paul's running mate.

Huntsman was probably the only one of the major candidates for whom Rubio would have warranted serious selection.

Call me crazy, but I think Kay Bailey Hutchinson would be the best pick to complement Romney.

You're crazy.

The last thing Mitt Romney needs to do is burnish his moderate credentials with base voters by choosing KBH. At some point, Mitt must win over the base, or he will not unify the party. KBH is not in step with the majority of the party anymore.

I understand you're making a general election case, but Romney's concern is a base that's weary about his authenticity on conservatism.

I don't think Rubio will be the VP nominee. Polls indicate he won't make a difference in Florida and he's said a hundred times he will not be the VP choice. He's only been in office for two years and I don't think Romney wants to run the risk of another Palin. I'm not comparing the the two, but better to find someone with a longer track record and more known knowns to quote Rumsfled.

I think Romney is already in bad enough shape he must pick someone who guarantees him a state. Obama already has the Kerry 2004 states locked up and that gives him 246 votes. If Obama campaigns to be the governor of Florida and wins, he'll win the presidency. Romney has to win Florida before he does anything else.

I think Jeb Bush is the only person who can guarantee Romney a win in Florida. Romney might win it with other choices, but he would have to spend time and money to do it. With Jeb, that money can be spent more effectively in his other must win state, Ohio.

Rubio isn't an attractive choice for any of the Republicans still running. He has too little experience to be a good fit for Romney, Neither Santorum nor Gingrich need him to shore up the base, and I can see Rubio wanting to be Paul's running mate.

Huntsman was probably the only one of the major candidates for whom Rubio would have warranted serious selection.

I think Romney probably has to pick someone that can energize the ticket. So in that regard, I think Rubio helps. Though I agree that his inexperience is a downside.